Service Tools - Extended Warranty Information Stamp

Irvine Mazda created this stamp to create a place on the RO where extended warranty information could be prominently displayed.

Prior to creating this stamp, Service Advisors were writing extended warranty information in various places on the RO or on scrap pieces of paper that were easily lost. Often times, the advisor got only some of the necessary information resulting in follow up phone calls to customers and warranty companies.

Now, when a customer states they have an extended warranty, the Service Advisor stamps the hard copy of the RO and fills out the needed information. This process has resulted in improved efficiency by reducing the frequency of lost or incomplete aftermarket warranty information.

Sales to Service Introduction

We have all heard the statistics regarding how important it is to introduce new vehicle owners to your service department and to set the first service appointment at the time of delivery. Introducing customers to the service and parts department during the delivery process is an integral element to help ensure that the customer comes back to your store for their first service. We know that if you get your customer's in for their first service, you dramatically increase the chances they will become loyal service customers and loyal service customers are much more likely to buy there next vehicle from your store.

So why do we, as an industry, generally skip this step during the delivery process?

One of the most common excuses for not introducing our new customers to service and setting the service appointment is that "we sell all our cars at night and on the weekends when service is closed".

Temecula Mazda has found a way around this obstacle. During hours when the service department is open, sales consultants introduce new customers to service advisers who invite the customer behind their desk to schedule their own first service appointment online. When vehicles are delivered after service hours, sales consultants walk customer's back to the service department and help them set up their first service appointment online. Each day when the service advisers leave, they clean up their counters and set their computers to the Temecula Mazda homepage. This way, when sales consultants invite their customers to set up their first appointment, the computer is set up and ready to go. By allowing the customer to use the service adviser's computer to set up their appointment, the customer becomes actively involved in the process and familiar with the dealer's website. This process is also a great way to capture e-mail addresses from customers for future marketing.

You can view Temecula Mazda's online form for setting up service appointments by clicking here.

Temecula Mazda Promotional Video

The Next Phase - Going Green

Everybody in the car business these days is touting how "green" they are. It all started with the Toyota Prius. The popularity of the Prius forced other manufactures to either offer a Hybrid or start promoting their fuel efficient models.
With the push from Hollywood, Al Gore, and Leonardo DiCaprio, the whole country is thinking green. Most analyst feel the movement from consumers to seek out green or low impact goods in not just a trend but the way of the future.
Subaru, who does not currently have a Hybrid vehicle, has put out some very compelling commercials regarding their manufacturing plant in Indiana. The plant is a zero emissions plant, emitting no landfill waste. The plant also contains a nature preserve in the surrounding grounds.
Those of us in the car business know it's a dirty business. Everything we do is environmentally UNfriendly. From washing cars, to shop chemicals, to mounds of wasted paper.

Planet Subaru outside of Boston is putting it's money where it's mouth is...and saving money by doing so. Half of Planet Subaru's 11 acre dealership is a nature preserve. The dealership recycles used oil, oil filters, and the water it uses washing cars. They have also put river rocks on the roof to provide insulation and use efficient lighting. The dealership says they have cut the stores electric bills by 30% and the EPA estimates they are saving $22,000 annually.

Land Rover Portland in Oregon has put a program to plant thousands of trees to offset the carbon emissions of the SUV's it sells. The dealership places "Carbon Neutral" stickers on it's vehicles which have become a status symbol among the dealership's customers. Not only is Land Rover Portland reducing it's environmental impact, it is using it's stewardship as a marketing tool.

To find more about Planet Subaru's environmental efforts click here.

To find out more about Land Rover Portland's Carbon Neutral program, visit their website and click on the "Carbon Neutral" icon. Make sure to look at page 3 to see other programs they are participating in.

Some simple things you can do at your dealership to reduce your impact on the environment include:
- Implementing a recycling program for paper, cans and bottles, oil and oil filters.
- Reduce showroom and lot lighting when dealership is closed
- Switch to an Electronic RO program to reduce paper waste
- Seek out recycled paper for your office, business cards, letterhead, contracts etc.
- Save printing costs and chemicals by printing all non-customer facing documents in B&W.

Please feel free to comment on this post with any ideas or examples that you have seen regarding dealer's commitment to the environment.

John Hine - Test Drive Experience

We all know how important the test drive is. Your chances of selling a customer increases exponentially with a thorough test drive. John Hine Mazda/Pontiac/Dodge in San Diego has perfected the test drive experience. Prior to each test drive, the sales consultant reviews the pictured John Hine Test Drive Experience map.

Every element of the test drive is mapped out and labeled and in full color on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of card stock. The map lets the customer know in advance what the route is, what conditions they will be driving under, and on the back, features affirming questions about the way the vehicle feels and handles for the customer to consider during each element of the test drive.

By following a proven pre-planned route, the sales consultant can pre-condition the customer on what to look for during each element of the test drive. Also, by following the same route, the sales person can inform the customer exactly how long the drive will take, eliminating customer concerns over time.

For the customer who "does not have time for a test drive" or is "on his lunch break" the sales consultant can respond: "Great!! I have a test drive that will take us 15 minutes and give you a demonstration of how this vehicle handles in all types of driving situations. Take a look at this map to prepare yourself while I a grab the keys to the vehicle you interested in."


CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Browning Mazda - Your One Stop Shop

The service business is getting more and more competitive. To make a buck these days you have to go above and beyond. Browning Mazda in Cerritos CA takes every opportunity to earn the customers business by providing additional services not typically found at competing dealerships or the independent shop.

During the Full Circle Walk Around, Browning Mazda Service Advisers not only inspect the vehicle for the normal service items like brakes and tires but also look for door dings, scratches, stained carpets and more. By providing dent removal, details, and paint repair on site in a timely manner, the dealership increases revenue and builds value in the dealership experience. They also offer free car washes to all their customers as long as they own the car. They have several customers who stop by EVERY WEEK to get their car washed. Where do you think these customers are going to go when they need service?

Browning Mazda is also a Retail Revolution store with good coffee, donuts, Internet access, flat screen TVs and a children's playroom. With all these amenities, customers don't mind spending some extra time at the dealer getting all their automotive needs addressed.

Bountiful Mazda - Welcome Board

As part of a process improvement program, Bountiful Mazda in Utah had this Welcome Board made up. The board provides the Service Advisers a "Quick Glance" reminder of their daily schedule so if they get a phone call from a customer who wants to come in today, they can determine quickly when they will have an opening.

The Welcome Board also reminds those customers that arrive early for their appointment and find themselves waiting for an advisor, that there are scheduled customers ahead of them and gives them an estimate on how long it will be before it's their time with an advisor.

We see the same tool everyday... In restaurants, at the doctor's office, at the deli counter at the supermarket. All designed to set the expectation with the customer that they may have to wait...and if they did not make an appointment, maybe next time they should.

Let's Remake a Dealership

By redesigning its showrooms, Mazda was able to please--and profit from--the Web-savvy buyers who were once its worst nightm

By Bob Parks
June 1, 2004

Business 2.0 – When Jason Suker walked into the Mazda showroom in Bountiful, Utah, he quickly found what he was looking for. No, not one of the sporty Miatas he'd been coveting, but a Web kiosk--one of six stationed around the showroom--where he could track down the latest pricing information from sites like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com.

Having glimpsed out front a car he could afford--a four-year-old limited-edition Miata in mint condition--Suker, a 27-year-old college student, quickly pulled up the average retail price on Kelley's. At $16,000, it was $500 more than the dealer's sticker. Then, on eBay, Suker checked bids for similar models and found they were going for far less. With a salesman looking over his shoulder to confirm his findings, the skeptical Suker made a lowball offer and expected the worst: endless haggling over price. But the salesman, after commending Suker for his research talent, eventually compromised and offered up the Miata for $13,300. Deal.

It was an even better deal for Bountiful Mazda. By helping Suker find the bargain price he wanted, not only did the dealership move a used car (with a higher profit margin than a new model), but it also opened the door to the unexpected upsell: Suker left the lot not just a happy customer, but toting a $1,300, 36,000-mile service warranty, ensuring he'd be back for more business.

With bold new showroom designs and revamped sales methods, Mazda is just one of many automakers spending millions on long-overdue dealership overhauls. (Taking advantage of low interest rates, manufacturers and dealership firms have remodeled more than half of all U.S. showrooms since 1999.) But Mazda ranks as the savviest of the bunch, because it's the first to figure out how to make money from the industry's chief enemy of healthy margins: the Web-smart, pitch-proof car buyer.

Folks who bargain-hunt online before visiting the lot account for 60 percent of auto buyers these days. If they're buying new, that means finding the invoice price of the car--the wholesale cost plus a "destination fee" (usually several hundred dollars) and, frequently, a small percentage cut for the dealer. Buyers bring in the price quotes like they're a form of consumer kryptonite, capable of neutralizing any super-powered sales spiel for a higher price.

But Mazda's new dealerships, by taking the unusual step of inviting customers to do their price research in-house--and by giving up invoice prices and discount rates on new and used cars--have pulled off something even more unusual. It's getting those typically standoffish, price-conscious buyers to cozy up to the sales folks, who can then focus on pitching them products like warranty packages and other extras that usually yield much higher profit margins than the car. Says Jim Hoostal, Mazda North America's retail development director, "The invoice price of a car is all over the place. Why not talk about it one-on-one? Customers come in well-armed. Acknowledge that, and you can have a meaningful conversation."

After years of sagging dealer sales, Mazda has some significant numbers to show for its effort. Its six revamped showrooms (Mazda plans to overhaul 200 dealerships by 2008), two of which have been operating for more than a year, are seeing 32 percent jumps in annual sales and generating twice the profit of older dealerships that have experienced similar sales increases. And Consumer Satisfaction Index surveys--important to dealers because they augur long-term success through repeat buyers--show that the Mazda overhauls yield a 10 to 15 percent increase in happy customers.

With the help of Design Forum, the firm that helped launch Saturn's showrooms a decade ago, Mazda threw away old store layouts and plotted the redesign around the profile of its new breed of customer. To fix problems, they made physical changes that they hoped would nudge practices in a profitable direction. With overhauls costing dealers an average of $810,000 apiece (Mazda kicked in $300,000 in seed money for exclusive sites), here's what they got for their money.

Let the Prices Hang Out

Instead of pretending the dealer invoice value doesn't exist--as so many auto salespeople still do today--Mazda trains its sales staff not to play dumb. They'll ask buyers whether they've been looking at cars online and what they've seen.

At the new showrooms, they can see anything they want: While other dealers still keep their PCs locked down to the makers' own websites, each new Mazda store has four to eight Internet kiosks that allow users to browse anywhere, check e-mail, or catch up on news while they wait for an oil change. Buyers compare models, trade-in values, or invoice prices while chatting with a salesperson. The kiosks "help build trust and close sales faster," says Michael MacDonald, owner of Bountiful Mazda, which boasted a 57 percent rise in sales for the first quarter of 2004.

That change in attitude plays directly into a dealer's hand. As Hoostal explains, "Once the customer's guard is down, you find out they can afford more car. You can upsell, cross-sell, and accessorize." The open dialog on pricing helps sales staff broach discussion about finance and service packages and accessories worth thousands of dollars.

Drive First, Talk Later

If there's one thing buyers want from a dealership that they don't get online, it's the chance to inhale that new-car smell, burn some rubber, and feel those seat warmers come to life. But before the makeover, Mazda frustrated many of its customers. Hoostal found that dealers' sales staff spent too much time "qualifying"--and thus annoying--customers with questions about budget and transportation needs before they'd hand over the keys. And price wars between dealerships often made test-drives a fruitless exercise, so many dealers downplayed them.

No more. The new dealerships feature canopied drive centers just outside the front door, with all the latest models gassed up and ready to demo. (And if you make a test-drive appointment through Mazda.com, a greeter will have your "build a vehicle" information on hand when you arrive.) Hoostal retrained his sales crews to get customers into a car as soon as possible. "If I offer them a test of any vehicle they want, it gives them one less reason to leave," Hoostal says. Another benefit: The experience of driving steers buyers away from their fixation with price. "It helps sell the product before you even talk about cost," says Mazda North America COO John Mendel. "It used to be the other way around."

Create a People Magnet

In most Mazda dealerships, Mendel says, the only place customers can sit down and drink a cup of hot--albeit terrible--coffee is a service waiting area, adjacent to the garage. Customers have little incentive to return. "If you could get an appointment," he says, "it would take more than 30 minutes sitting on a broken couch."

In the redesigns, Mazda junked the spartan waiting areas and instead created 400-square-foot cafes, stationed at the middle of the stores, where they serve a dual purpose. They're comfortable places for buyers like Suker to hang out, and entertainment zones for those coveted service and warranty customers. Whether they're buying a new set of Firestones or dropping in for a 50,000-mile tune-up, the cafe gets them out of the garage and surrounds them with gleaming new cars. Says Eric Noble, auto industry analyst for the CarLab, "It's very smart. Why have a separate room in the corner of your service department where they're looking at Parenting magazine, when they should be looking at your latest inventory?"

To draw more people inside, Mazda also declared the cafes a no-fly zone for salespeople. Those buying a car can invite salespeople to join them in the cafe to draw up paperwork, but Mazda has done away with traditional sales booths--further driving home the impression that everything's out in the open. The cafes also offer big-screen TVs and PlayStation 2 consoles--outfitted with Gran Turismo, which, naturally, features the Mazda RX8, just a few steps away from the real thing.

Slick as the new stores are, there's one glitch that Mazda hasn't yet worked out. Log on to Mazda.com and try finding a price quote from any of the listed dealers. What do you find? No prices, just a tacky form to fill out--to request a quote--that you're sure to ignore. Mazda may indeed have discovered how to satisfy Internet customers. But here's the surprising truth: It has very little to do with the Internet at all.

Customer's For Life - Bountiful Mazda

Bountiful Mazda's "Customer's For Life" program board. This board informs customers of all the benefits of having their vehicle serviced at Bountiful Mazda. By creating loyalty programs that encourage frequent visits to the dealership, Bountiful Mazda is able to maintain a higher service retention ratio.

Competitive Comparison Board - Bountiful Mazda

This photo is of the Competitive Comparison Board at Bountiful Mazda. The board hangs above the Service Adviser kiosks and list Bountiful's pricing on routine services and compares them to the prices of local shops. The board is the same material as a dry-erase board and can be changed easily by using dry-erase markers.

Full Circle Window Display - Tustin Mazda

These two window clings were one-off's and part of the original Mazda Full Circle Walk Around launch. The purpose of these posters is to set the expectation of the Full Circle Inspection for the customer. The Full-Circle Inspection cling is also used by the Service Advisor to show customers the Full Circle Inspection points and describe the process.

Full Circle Walk Around Guarantee - Browning Mazda

Browning Mazda had this board made up for their service drive. The board is placed in the line of sight as customers pull into the drive. The purpose of the board is to set the expectation with the customer and the service advisor that every vehicle receives a Full Circle Walk Around.
If a customer ever approaches management stating they have not received a Full Circle Walk Around, the customer receives a coupon for a free oil change and filter on their next visit.